I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1417 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Defense 

to use only human-based methods for training members of the Armed 

Forces in the treatment of severe combat injuries. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 7, 2011 

Mr. FILNER (for himself, Mr. JONES, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. 

CRITZ, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, and Mr. 

KUCINICH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Defense to use only human-based methods for 

training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment 

of severe combat injuries. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Battlefield Excellence 

5 through Superior Training Practices Act’’ or ‘‘BEST 

6 Practices Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The Department of Defense has made im4 pressive strides in the development and use of meth5 ods of medical training and troop protection, such as 

6 the use of tourniquets and improvements in body 

7 armor, that have led to decreased battlefield fatali8 ties. 

9 (2) The Department of Defense uses more than 

10 6,000 live animals each year to train physicians, 

11 medics, corpsmen, and other personnel methods of 

12 responding to severe battlefield injuries. 

13 (3) The civilian sector has almost exclusively 

14 phased in the use of superior human-based training 

15 methods for numerous medical procedures currently 

16 taught in military courses using animals. 

17 (4) Human-based medical training methods 

18 such as simulators replicate human anatomy and 

19 can allow for repetitive practice and data collection. 

20 (5) According to scientific, peer-reviewed lit21 erature, medical simulation increases patient safety 

22 and decreases errors by healthcare providers. 

23 (6) The Army Research, Development and En24 gineering Command and other entities of the De25 partment of Defense have made impressive strides in 


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1 the development of methods for the replacement of 

2 live animal-based training. 

3 (7) According to the report by the Department 

4 of Defense titled ‘‘Final Report on the use of Live 

5 Animals in Medical Education and Training Joint 

6 Analysis Team’’ published on July 12, 2009— 

7 (A) validated, high-fidelity simulators will 

8 be available for nearly every high-volume or 

9 high-value battlefield medical procedure by the 

10 end of 2011, and many were available as of 

11 2009; and 

12 (B) validated, high-fidelity simulators will 

13 be available to teach all other procedures to re14 spond to common battlefield injuries by 2014. 

15 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO USE HUMAN-BASED METHODS 

16 FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL TRAINING. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 101 of title 10, United 

18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing new section: 

20 ‘‘§ 2017. Requirement to use human-based methods 

21 for certain medical training 

22 ‘‘(a) COMBAT TRAUMA INJURIES.—(1) Not later 

23 than October 1, 2014, the Secretary of Defense shall de24 velop, test, and validate human-based training methods for 

25 the purpose of training members of the armed forces in 


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1 the treatment of combat trauma injuries with the goal of 

2 replacing live animal-based training methods. 

3 ‘‘(2) Not later than October 1, 2016, the Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall only use human-based training meth5 ods for the purpose of training members of the 

6 armed forces in the treatment of combat trauma in7 juries; and 

8 ‘‘(B) may not use animals for such purpose. 

9 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than October 1, 

10 2012, and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 

11 to the congressional defense committees a report on the 

12 development and implementation of human-based training 

13 methods for the purpose of training members of the armed 

14 forces in the treatment of combat trauma injuries under 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) The term ‘combat trauma injuries’ means 

18 severe injuries likely to occur during combat, includ19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(A) hemorrhage; 

21 ‘‘(B) tension pneumothorax; 

22 ‘‘(C) amputation resulting from blast in23 jury; 

24 ‘‘(D) compromises to the airway; and 

25 ‘‘(E) other injuries. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘human-based training methods’ 

2 means, with respect to training individuals in med3 ical treatment, the use of systems and devices that 

4 do not use animals, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) simulators; 

6 ‘‘(B) partial task trainers; 

7 ‘‘(C) moulage; 

8 ‘‘(D) simulated combat environments; 

9 ‘‘(E) human cadavers; and 

10 ‘‘(F) rotations in civilian and military trau11 ma centers. 

12 ‘‘(3) The term ‘partial task trainers’ means 

13 training aids that allow individuals to learn or prac14 tice specific medical procedures.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

16 at the beginning of chapter 101 of title 10, United States 

17 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

18 item: 

‘‘2017. Requirement to use human-based methods for certain medical training.’’. 

Æ 


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